Young, gifted and hacks

As they shuffled towards the complimentary lunch, one turned to the other and whispered: "Makes me think that our features need a real kick in the arse". Both were among the wrinkle-free faces who attended Ian Katz's editing masterclass at the Guardian Student Media Conference 2006 in London on Wednesday. The annual conference attracts budding university journalists and is not just the prologue to the evening's Guardian Student Media Awards, hosted by Lauren Laverne, but a chance to pick up a tip or two from the pros.

The central lesson this year is that journalism is changing and changing fast. The Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger explains how the developments in the digital world are affecting newspapers now and will do so even more in the future. It is an unsettling yet incredibly exciting time to be in journalism, he says, adding that all journalists need to master new media tools if they are to reach an increasingly fragmented audience that demands greater interactivity.

"It has dawned on reporters that the years when they worked with just a notebook and pencil are over and that they now have to work in at least five media, keyboard, sound, stills and moving pictures, podcasts and hyperlinks," says Rusbridger. "Your generation are probably comfortable with all those media and won't find it so shocking to work across them."

During a seminar on digital journalism, however, a Q&A reveals that some of the young audience still see newsprint as superior to online - and would prefer to work on the former. That elicits an "I can't believe you are still using print any more" response from panellist Georgina Henry, the editor of Comment is free and Rusbridger's former deputy.

Fellow panellists Steve Busfield, editor of MediaGuardian.co.uk, and Nick Assinder, political correspondent for BBC News Online, agree that online is the future and that newspapers will become a premium product. That was put into sharp relief, says Busfield, when he moved from paper to online last year during the week of the July 7 bombings. He nipped into the newsroom and "realised that by the time anyone read what they had written, online would be on to the second day of coverage."

A seminar on criticism looks at the big impact of the internet. When asked if blogging meant newspaper arts critics were surplus to requirements, the Observer's pop critic Kitty Empire replies: "Something may supersede blogging. My opinion is more important than some crap blogger." For fellow panellist and Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw cultural criticism is a luxury item. "It comes down to the writing," he says. "If your writing appeals you will find an audience."

Bradshaw's lament that blogging and celebrity power are endangering the old skills of reporting is echoed by Guardian political correspondent Tania Branigan and her fellow panellists during the news seminar. "Reporting is an underrated skill in many newspapers," she says. "You now get a hell of a lot of comment and very few facts." For the BBC war correspondent Ben Brown all news journalism comes down to three words: "Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy."

But how best to become a reporter? Start with a local newspaper or radio or TV station, says Brown, as their small resources mean you are more likely to find yourself reporting rather than just making the tea. "Make yourself a nuisance and keep throwing ideas to them," adds the third panellist Hugh Muir, a Guardian reporter. "But make sure you target the right media outlet. Don't offer a Sun-style story to the Times, for example."

The afternoon keynote speech is given by Channel 4 News presenter Samira Ahmed. Reviewing a 16-year career, in which she has reported extensively on Islamist extremism and the status of women today, Ahmed says good news journalists rely on their own ears and keep careful notes.

"It's about using your wits and thinking about what is the real story, because sometimes there is a headline over a news item and the real story can be buried inside," she says. "It easy to think money isn't important. But money is a measure of status and success. Find out what other people are earning because pay rises will not come automatically to you." And judging from how the young attendees wolfed down the lunchtime nibbles, many may already have grasped the importance of a key part of journalism: the free lunch.

The winners

Journalist of the Year Winner: Rupert Neate, Felix, Imperial College London

Newspaper of the Year Winner: Felix, Imperial College London Runner Up: Sheffield Steel Press, University of Sheffield

Magazine of the Year Winner: Quench Magazine, Cardiff University Runners Up: I Science, Imperial College London Isis, University of Oxford

Website of the Year Winner: University of Warwick, www.warwickboar. co.uk Runner Up: University College Falmouth, www. bloc-online.com

Sports Writer of the Year Winner: David O'Kelly, The Warwick Boar, University of Warwick Runner Up: Sophie Pickford, Varsity and The Cambridge Student Weekly, University of Cambridge

Photographer of the Year Winner: Paul Read, Swansea Institute of Higher Education Runners Up: Katrinka Goldberg, Edinburgh College of Art; Guy Martin, University of Wales, Newport

Travel Writer of the Year Winner: Tancred Newbury, The Warwick Boar, University of Warwick Runner Up: Silje Boyum, Degrees North, University of Sunderland

Diversity Writer of the Year Winner: Rohin Frances, Medical Student Newspaper, St. George's, University of London Runner Up: Dan Johnson, Leeds Student, University of Leeds

Publication Design of the Year Winner: Smiths, Goldsmiths College, University of London Runner Up: Impact Magazine, University of Nottingham

Critic of the Year Winner: Ben Lafferty, Cherwell, University of Oxford Runner Up: Andrew Mickel, Gair Rhydd, Cardiff University

Columnist of the Year Winner: Andrew Mickel, Gair Rhydd, Cardiff University Runner Up: Rohin Frances, Medical Student Newspaper, St. George's, University of London

Feature Writer of the Year Winner: Matthew Kennard, Leeds Student, University of Leeds Runner Up: Graeme Allister, Glasgow Guardian, University of Glasgow

Reporter of the Year in association with Sky News Winner: Felicity Hay, Sheffield Steel Press, University of Sheffield Runner Up: Rupert Neate, Felix, Imperial College London

Small Budget Publication of the Year Winner: The Cheese Grater, University College London Runner Up: Lippy, Leeds University